


Blood and Roses

by Cap_Sweet_And_Salty_Sadness



Series: Cullrian Tumblr Prompts [13]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternative Universe - Amnesia, Amnesia like the video game, M/M, Tumblr Prompt, a kiss happens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-09-08 05:25:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8832145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cap_Sweet_And_Salty_Sadness/pseuds/Cap_Sweet_And_Salty_Sadness
Summary: Cullen and Dorian wake up in a mansion without any memory. Strange things happen.Aka the Amnesia AU nobody asked for.





	

**Author's Note:**

> From the prompt: "Waking up with Amnesia with either Cullrian or Fever"

His pounding head woke him up. He didn’t remember getting into bed. In fact, he couldn’t remember anything, no matter how hard he tried. His mind was blank. All he knew was that he was holding someone else, their warm body cuddled against his. His eyes opened with a jerk at the realization, and he stumbled back, freeing himself from the arms around him. He wasn’t into a bed at all, but on a rug on a stone floor. The house – or should he use mansion - around them was beautiful but had suffered destruction. Rumbles were blocking one way, water leaked from the ceiling, and there was dark stains on the rug that had lived through better days. The large windows offered light but no insight as to where they could be.  
  
He didn’t recognize this place at all, nor the man he’d been hugging in his sleep. He shook his shoulder, not wanting to be alone in this situation. When he did, he seemed as shook as he was.

“Who are you?” He asked him, fighting hard not to overly panic. It didn’t help that the other man didn’t answer, instead touching his clothes, then looking at their surrounding. “You don’t remember either?”

“I have no clue where we are.” The man took a shuddering breath, getting on his feet. “Or who I am.”

“Neither do I… What is this?” He touched the stains on the rug. His fingers came out red, making him shudder.

“I think it’s blood,” the other man managed to say. “I feel sick.”

He wiped his hand on his pants, then checked himself for any opened injuries. Other than a few bruises, he was fine. “It’s not mine.”

“Not mine either. Why is there rose petals here?”

“Come on. Let’s try to find where we are. We can’t possibly be alone in here.”

He opened the first door close to them, and inside was only a desk with a candle and a tinderbox. He figured it could be useful, so he took it. The other man was examining the rumbles, sighing.

“What could have done this?” He was pondering out loud.

“An explosion, perhaps?”

They ventured in an adjacent hall, and they cheered up when they saw the big double doors. They hurried to it, noting how creepy the statues were. They both yanked on their respective handle, eager to get out, but the doors wouldn’t budge. 

“Of course it wouldn’t be this easy.”

“Maybe we can squeeze something in between to break it open?”

“Like what? A crowbar? First we’d need to find one.”

The other man huffed in annoyance, but his moustache wasn’t making him intimidating in the least. “We’re both stuck here, may I remind you, but I’m the only one trying to find a solution.”

He sighed, scratched the back of his neck. “I’m sorry about that. We’ll find another way out, there must be a few, in such a big mansion.”

They ventured into another room, and they both were startled when a door opened by itself, wind coming through it. The other man squeezed his arm, taking a deep breath. There was no one inside but another tinderbox.

“Who put tinderboxes all over the place?” He asked once they’d collect a few more. They climbed up some stairs and were startled to hear someone running before the walls began to move and creak. He suddenly felt like he was about to pass out. Luckily the other man helped him to stay upright, and he took refuge in his arms for a bit longer than was necessary.

“Are you alright?”

“As much as I can be, considering the circumstances.”

“Hush, you’re with me at least. It could be with some ugly lad.”

He blinked at the other. “How do you know how you look like?”

That took him aback. He stared at him with a blank look, his mouth opening a few times before he conceded that he didn’t know, before he gasped.

“Dorian! My name is Dorian!” He exclaimed, grinning. The smile was infectious, and he found himself smiling back.

“Nice to meet you, Dorian. I wish I could tell you my name, but I still have no clue.”

“That’s alright. I’ll continue to call you handsome gentleman in my head in the mean time.”

That made him blush, and he turned away before a smile crept on his face. They entered a large room with a few doors, including one that opened on its own once again.

“What is happening with these magical doors?” Dorian frowned, carefully glancing into the dark room on their right. There was nothing in it but tinderboxes.

“It might not be blood, you know,” he declared after he examined the liquid littered on the floor. “It looks too pink for that.”

“Then I don’t want to know. I feel like we’re being watched.” Dorian shivered, uncomfortable. He passed by the fallen wardrobe and walked into the other room… only to quickly get out with black smoke. He slammed the door shut and stared at the other man.

“What the fuck was that? Clearly someone had to touch the door to open it, but I couldn’t see anything in there.” 

“We need to follow the trail I think.” 

“It’s not like we have much of a choice.” Dorian mumbled, following down the stairs. A pillar was broken, parts scattered in their way. Another door, this one with a small sign. 

“Old Archives. Usually archives are quite old, so isn’t this a pleonasm?” Dorian stated, which earned him a look.

“I hope you’re not a comedian, otherwise you must be starving,” he replied as they stepped into yet another corridor.

“I’m trying to lighten up the mood. Oh, what’s this?” Dorian took something from his pocket, offered it to him. “It was poking out of your pocket.”

“That wasn’t there before… A journal?” There wasn’t anything in it, except for a line on the first page. “My name is Cullen Rutherford.”

At this some mysterious wind blew in their face. 

“The place is happy you finally know your name, and so am I.” 

“I wouldn’t say this mansion is happy, more like creepy and infinite.”

They continued exploring, rooms leading to other rooms; mysterious things happening without a logical reason. Cockroaches appearing out of nowhere, walls shaking, wind blowing with no origin. At least they found a lantern to help their sanity to remain as intact as it could. They then found a note, the first clue since they’d woke up.

“We need to kill Meredith? And that shadow they’re – we’re talking about, perhaps it’s causing all the weird stuff.”

“I don’t know. This is some freaky shit,” Cullen said. He reread the note while Dorian looked around. The latter made a little ha! Of discovery, and one of the bookcases moved to reveal a new archway. 

“Look, a new door! Isn’t this exciting?”

“Not really. We have to kill someone.”

Cullen was surprised when Dorian came closer and actually took his hand, pulling him forward. “I think we’re in a much bigger mess than this, if we voluntarily became amnesiac.”

He was right. They descended into the basement when Cullen suddenly had a flashback.

“I just remembered, we’re in Brennenburg,” Cullen reported to Dorian.

“Brennenburg? It doesn’t remind me of anything.”

They found another big double doors, but when they approached, something organic and red appeared on it. Dorian made a disgusted noise while Cullen poked it with a finger.

“It’s from the same sort we found downstairs. Perhaps there’s a way to get rid of it?”

Indeed, they found a laboratory with instructions and a list of the ingredients. 

“This is a step forward, at least,” Dorian said with a sigh. Cullen rubbed his back unconsciously. They’d been walking around for a few hours now, and not being able to remember anything was exhausting them both. Dorian cleared his throat and shoved another oil vial into a bag they found along the way.

They returned the way they came in, back to the main area.

“Where should we go first? Ooh, there’s a wine cellar.” 

“Later. Let’s go to the Archives first.”

“Archives, seriously? Who named these?”

“Now you know why there’s Old Archives to difference them from those Archives.”

That place was probably the coziest they’d visited so far. There still was some destruction, but Cullen didn’t feel overwhelmed by the cold stone around them. 

That was until they heard the noises. Cullen stopped searching through a desk’s drawer, exchanged a look with Dorian who had been checking into another one.

Did you hear that? He mouthed to him. Dorian nodded. He crouched and went to the door to look outside. Whatever he saw, he quickly retreated and closed the door as silently as possible, but it still made too much noise to Cullen’s liking. 

“Hide!” He whispered-shouted, coming back to him. Cullen grabbed him and they both crawled in a nook between a bookcase and the wall. Heavy footsteps came closer, accompanied by guttural groans. Cullen thought it would continue its way, but then the door was opened with a bang. 

Dorian pressed a hand against Cullen’s mouth.

“Don’t look at it,” he whispered into his ear before he closed his eyes. Cullen stared at the floor, breathing steadily. He could still see it in the edge of his vision, lurking. What was it? It looked humanoid, but the sounds it was making were nothing but. 

After what felt like an eternity, it left, vanished into some other room. They both exhaled in relief, and Cullen showed Dorian what he found.

“It’s one of the ingredients,” he said. “Having the scare of our life was at least for something.”

Dorian stared at him for a moment, his hand still curled around the collar of his shirt. He inhaled, pale gaze sliding down his lips, and then he was kissing him. His mouth was firm and warm, real, but he could only enjoy it for a short time before Dorian retreated. 

“I’ll kiss you again once we retrieve the next ingredient,” Dorian puffed with a gentle smile before he was extracting himself from their hideout. This was the only pep talk Cullen needed, as he decided he wanted a lot more kisses from him.


End file.
